Base Training - Intermediate - 4 Weeks

This program is tailor made for athletes looking to do a proper base period but fit in with their busy lives. This program will put you through a proper base period with less than 10 hours a week of riding. The program places a heavy emphasis on subTHR or sweet spot efforts, to increase your fitness in the most efficient and sustainable way early in the season.

- Introductory 20 minute power test - Helpful guide for establishing training zones, calculating FTP, tips for using bike computers effectively and general tips regarding using power meters and rate of perceived effort (RPE) properly - Power Based: detailed guide of of wattage, heart rate and RPE zones for each session - Variety of sessions will give you some tools to coach yourself - Clear sense of progression to keep you engaged and educate you about structured training - Suitable for Cat 2/3 or (B/C grade) riders looking to progress their cycling

Sample Day -20

1:07:00

74.2TSS

20 min Power Test

First up on the program is a 20 minute power test. Before starting the test, you will need to do a brief warm up:

Head out to a relatively flat road that will allow you to do a 20 minute effort uninterrupted. Use the lap function to record the average power for the 20 minute test.

So what is all this for? We are going to try and APPROXIMATE your Functional Threshold Power (FTP). Functional Threshold Power is supposed to be the power at which you could hold for 1 hour. A colleague of mine commonly calls FTP the Failure To Perform and in a sense he is right. A lot of athletes think that successful riders have high FTP's. But successful athletes win races. Training with FTP is a tool and a guide, not the be all and end all.

You may not always be able to achieve the wattage that your FTP suggests. Mental stress creates physical stress. FTP's are not the be all and end all, sometimes it will feel like a struggle to hit your power targets while others it will feel a lot easier. Be prepared to listen to your body and adjust the intensity of future sessions based on how you feel.

Download the attached document, have a read, do the test and then go to the settings section on TrainingPeaks and set training zones for yourself.

If you feel like you paced this poorly, you could attempt it again on Sunday.

Sample Day -17

0:45:00

18.8TSS

Easy Recovery Ride Short

Anywhere between 45 min to an hour is fine. Keep it social, have a coffee, ect. Avoid longer and faster group rides. The aim is to recover!

Sample Day -10

0:45:00

18.8TSS

Easy Recovery Ride Short

Anywhere between 45 min to an hour is fine. Keep it social, have a coffee, ect. Avoid longer and faster group rides. The aim is to recover!

Sample Day -3

0:45:00

18.8TSS

Easy Recovery Ride Short

Anywhere between 45 min to an hour is fine. Keep it social, have a coffee, ect. Avoid longer and faster group rides. The aim is to recover!

Sample Day 1

0:45:00

18.8TSS

Easy Recovery Ride Short

Anywhere between 45 min to an hour is fine. Keep it social, have a coffee, ect. Avoid longer and faster group rides. The aim is to recover!

Sample Day 2

1:15:00

21.75mi

53TSS

Sprints!

2 Sets of 4 Sprints: Each Sprint is 5 min apart and there is 10 minutes between each set. Start all sprints between 27 - 30 km/hr.